Americans may have had bird flu and not even know it, new study suggests
Show Caption
Hide Caption
New deadly bird flu strain emerges
As the bird flu continues to spread across the country, there's new evidence it's mutating beyond chickens and cows.
Fox - Seattle
A new report suggests that more Americans may be walking around with bird flu − and not even know it.
Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention randomly tested 150 veterinarians for H5N1, or bird flu, antibodies, which would indicate if they had a recent infection.
Three veterinarians specializing in cattle tested positive, according to the study published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Thursday. The vets said they never experienced any flu-like symptoms.
Two vets said they had no known exposures to animals with known or suspected bird flu, and one said they didn't practice in a state where there were known bird flu infections among cattle.
What to know: A farm worker has contracted Ohio's first human case of bird flu
The report adds to a growing body of evidence that suggests people may have asymptomatic bird flu infections, or infections showing no obvious symptoms. In November, the CDC posted a study that found dairy workers may have gotten sick without showing symptoms after being exposed to infected cows.
Asymptomatic disease played a role in how COVID-19 spread in 2020. People who were sick with no symptoms mingled with others in public, unknowingly transmitting the virus.
It allowed the virus to spread undetected.
Although it's still unclear if bird flu can be transmitted asymptomatically, experts have told USA TODAY the number of bird flu cases is likely much higher than reported.
'Not quite knowing the full picture of things right now is concerning,' Dr. Ben Bradely, assistant professor at the University of Utah School of Medicine's pathology department, said during a briefing in December.
Unlike the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is already a test that detects H5N1, which is a subtype of influenza A. But a person infected with bird flu who isn't experiencing any symptoms is unlikely to get tested.
Most people with bird flu infections typically experience mild symptoms: Pink eye, fever, fatigue, cough, muscle aches, sore throat, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, stuffy or runny nose, and shortness of breath, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
But the more the virus spreads undetected, the more opportunities it has to mutate into something more dangerous to humans.
'Public health officials are very concerned about this possibility,' said Dr. Elizabeth Jacobs, internal medicine physician and chair of the internal medicine department at the University of California, Riverside Health. 'The virus that causes bird flu, H5N1, is following the same path that other viruses have taken to become one that spreads efficiently in humans.'
Since April, the CDC says nearly 70 people have been infected with bird flu and one person died. This includes new cases that were recently reported in Nevada and Ohio.
The H5N1 virus has reduced milk output in cattle and pushed up egg prices by wiping out millions of hens.
'We're seeing the H5N1 virus itself be smarter than all of us,' said Dr. Beth Thompson, South Dakota's state veterinarian.
Contributing: Reuters.
Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at adrodriguez@usatoday.com.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
‘Is it the dying kind?'
Still, O must have sensed something was wrong. Usually calm and even-keeled, O started having sudden bursts of frenzy. His teacher, aware of my diagnosis, wasn't surprised to hear about his new behavior at home. She gently suggested that honesty — framed in a way he could understand — might help ease his anxiety. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up Maybe the teacher was right, but how the hell do I do that? O loves Band-Aids — maybe I could start there. He was thrilled when I showed him the ones from my chemo shots and IVs — even more so when I brought a few special ones home just for him. On the days I was pumped so full of steroids I thought I might molt, we turned the jittery energy into epic Nerf baseball games in the living room. Now that I had begun letting him into the story, O's anxious edge faded, and he settled back into himself. That gave me the courage — if you can call it that — to finally say the dreaded c-word. I slipped it into the middle of a game of Sorry! like it was just another move. I'm not sure exactly how I said it. I was nervous — the only time I'd ever felt that way talking to O — and the words came out awkwardly. I do remember that what I said didn't seem to register. 'Cancer' meant nothing to him. Mine was his first. I wondered how much of my circumstances he was absorbing. Life, at least for him, seemed to have returned to normal. Then, one night while I was tucking him in, O, who was a master at avoiding uncomfortable conversations, surprised me by asking, 'Why do you go to so many doctors now?' We talked about how, even though I looked and felt mostly fine, my body couldn't fight off bugs as well as his and that I needed a lot of doctor visits to help me get better. I asked what he thought about wearing a mask at school, especially during sick season. My shy, COVID-era kiddo — who already had used a mask as a shield — started wearing one again without hesitation. That only made me feel worse. O rarely mentioned my illness, but then one day, he told my wife about the special breakfast he was planning to make me when I was 'all done with chemo.' She softly clarified that I might never be off chemo, even if the doses get lower. 'Why?' O asked. 'To keep the cancer levels down.' 'Papa has cancer?' 'Yes, of course. You knew that.' For a moment, he said nothing. Then his face brightened with a smile feigning revelation. 'Oh yeah.' 'Do you remember what it's called?' 'Muh-muh something.' 'Multiple myeloma.' A long pause. 'Is it the dying kind of cancer?' Somewhere along the way, O had learned that cancer could mean dying. We had never talked about that part. Another longer pause. My wife, not knowing how to respond, said, 'Well, the medicine Papa's getting is working really well.' He said nothing, and for the rest of the evening he played with unusual intensity, forcing laughter — the kind that seemed meant to drown out whatever else was there. I wondered if the perfect book could help. O treasures his books. But none of the ones I could find about illness felt right. If anything, I feared they'd make him feel worse. So, in a burst of steroid-fueled arrogance, I decided to write one myself, a story where the father actually said all the right things. I rewrote obsessively, dreaming about blue whales (O loves whales) in New York City subways. Finally, I landed on a story I believed would work for him. But the magic for O was in a physical book itself — choosing one from the library, getting lost in the illustrations, finding the perfect spot for it on his shelf. I later learned, though, that it might be a year or two before the book I was writing would be published. By then, O might not even care about whales. Then again, what if O was actually doing fine? Aren't kids supposed to be resilient? Yes, he now wore a mask to school, and we couldn't go on our beloved weekend subway adventures anymore. And I could no longer be his sick buddy when he was having tough nights. But he adjusted so quickly — maybe he just thought this was normal now that he was 6. Recently, O revealed that he'd been concocting a grand imaginary scheme to trap his mom. It started with a birdcage and escalated into locking her at the top of a tall tower with no door and no stairs. Then he decided he'd give her medicine to 'make her a little sick' and might need to build a coffin in case something went wrong. 'I am not sure I like this game,' my wife said. O, who'd presented his plan with good humor and without a hint of malice, said, 'I already made a plan in my calendar.' Maybe I should hold off on reading more Brothers Grimm to him, but I suspect it's his way of working through some complex feelings. On my next designated steroid day, I started writing a new book for O based on his wild scheme. If he could go into an imaginary world to control sickness and death, so could I. Through this circus of Nerf baseball and Band-Aids and tales of whales and birdcages, I had been so focused on how I would tell O that I had lost sight of what I was actually trying to say. I wrote this piece to try and figure it out. If this were an after-school special, I'd probably realize that all I really wanted to tell him was that I love him and I just had to find the right way to do it. Or that I had more to learn from him than he did from me. That is not where this landed, though. I finally know what I've been trying to say all along, but how the hell do I tell him I'm sorry?
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Doctor raises red flag amid surge in one type of ER visit: 'Recognition is important'
Doctor raises red flag amid surge in one type of ER visit: 'Recognition is important' Doctors across the United States are reporting a rise in tick bites and medical care associated with them this summer. The trend has prompted health officials to remind people about tick prevention and removal. Higher numbers indicate the extent to which environmental changes affect public health. What's happening? Dr. Matt Harris at Northwell Medicine noticed an increase in tick removals while working at a summer youth camp in New York, according to NBC News. But it's not just in New York where tick bites are on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shared troubling data. The numbers in May (the typical peak month for hospital visits due to tick bites) reached 134 tick-related ER visits per 100,000 overall visits, according to the CDC, the highest since 2019. Public awareness may be contributing to early care, Harris said in the NBC report. Patients are more likely to seek treatment for ticks when they're smaller or less engorged. Why are more tick bites concerning? A rise in tick-related incidents may also be due in part to a migration of ticks into more populated areas, as another expert cited by NBC noted. Warmer temperatures and increased humidity also create favorable conditions for ticks to thrive, according to the report, and this may lead to longer tick seasons and put more people at risk. An overheating planet could broaden the geographic range of ticks as well. This expansion of tick habitats increases the chances of human encounters. Ticks can carry a variety of diseases, with Lyme disease being the most commonly diagnosed, per the Mayo Clinic. About half a million people are diagnosed with or treated for the disease every year, per the CDC. Do you worry about air pollution in your town? All the time Often Only sometimes Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Not all tick bites result in infection, but the longer a tick remains attached, the higher the risk. The potential transmission of diseases from tick bites is a public health concern that has resulted in more ER visits, tests, and treatments for tick-borne illnesses. What can I do to help prevent tick bites? Protecting yourself, your family, and your friends from tick bites is crucial. When outdoors, especially in grassy or wooded areas, use insect repellent. Consider wearing long pants and long sleeves as well. After returning indoors, perform a thorough self-check for any ticks on your skin. If you find a tick, proper removal is key to reducing the risk of infection. Use tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin's surface as possible. Then, pull away from the skin with steady, even pressure. Avoid squeezing the tick's body, as this can increase the risk of infection. Harris emphasized that "recognition is important," as is quick removal. It's not a typical 911 emergency unless severe symptoms develop, but you should call your doctor or visit an urgent care clinic for more moderate bites. Following these simple precautions can help individuals reduce their risk of tick bites. Awareness, prevention, and attention will ensure healthier outdoor experiences for everyone. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
8 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
COVID surges nationwide with highest rates in Southwest as students return to school
COVID-19 rates in the Southwestern United States reached 12.5% — the highest in the nation — according to new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released this week. Meanwhile, Los Angeles County recorded the highest COVID levels in its wastewater since February. The spike, thanks to the new highly contagious 'Stratus' variant, comes as students across California return to the classroom, now without a CDC recommendation that they receive updated COVID shots. That change in policy, pushed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been criticized by many public health experts. The COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, mutates often, learning to better transmit itself from person to person and evade immunity created by vaccinations and previous infections. The Stratus variant, first detected in Asia in January, reached the U.S. in March and became the predominant strain by the end of June. It now accounts for two-thirds of virus variants detected in wastewater in the U.S., according to the CDC. The nationwide COVID positivity rate hit 9% in early August, surpassing the January post-holiday surge, but still below last August's spike to 18%. Weekly deaths, a metric that lags behind positivity rates, has so far remained low. In May, RFK Jr. announced the CDC had removed the COVID vaccine from its recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and healthy pregnant women. The secretary argued it was the right move to reverse the Biden administration's policy, which in 2024, 'urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot, despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children.' That statement promptly spurred a lawsuit from a group of leading medical organizations — including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians and the American Public Health Association — which argued the 'baseless and uninformed' decision violated federal law by failing to ground the policy on the recommendation of the scientific committee that looks at immunization practices in the U.S. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has been routinely recommending updated COVID vaccinations alongside the typical yearly flu vaccination schedule. In its update for the fall 2024-spring 2025 season, it noted that in the previous year, a COVID booster decreased the risk of hospitalization by 44% and death by 23%. The panel argued the benefit outweighed isolated cases of heart conditions and allergic reactions associated with the vaccine. The panel also acknowledged that booster effectiveness decreases as new COVID strains — for which the boosters were not designed — emerge. Nevertheless, it still felt that most Americans should get booster shots. The CDC estimates that only about 23% of adults and 13% of children received the 2024-2025 COVID booster — even with the vaccine recommendation still in place. That's compared to roughly half of adults and children who received the updated flu shot in the same time frame.
